Read the general eligibility basics overview
Hypothetical example: a Conception Bay South project coordinator was born in a New England hospital while her parents were working there, and has lived in Canada since infancy on a Canadian passport. She is very likely a United States citizen, and if so she cannot use TN at all — because she does not need it, and because a United States citizen must enter on a United States passport.
Birth in the United States, and citizenship through a parent
A person born in the United States is generally a citizen of the United States from birth regardless of the parents' status or how briefly the family was there. Citizenship can also pass to a child born outside the country to a United States citizen parent, subject to conditions about the parent's own status and prior physical presence that vary by the year of birth. Neither route requires anyone to have applied for anything, so a person can hold the status for decades without documents. The first question is factual: where were you born, and what was each parent's citizenship at that time.
What it means for the work plan, which is mostly good news
A United States citizen needs no work classification at all: no TN, no petition, no employer sponsorship, no limit on duration and no dependent-status problem for a spouse who would separately need their own route. What is required instead is documentation. That normally means applying for a passport, or first for a consular report of birth abroad where citizenship came through a parent, and the processing takes time. It also means understanding that a citizen must use a United States passport to enter the United States, which is a rule people in this position often do not know.
Do not guess, and do not present the wrong document
Two errors matter. The first is assuming citizenship without checking the conditions, particularly for citizenship through a parent where physical-presence requirements differ by era and can defeat an otherwise obvious claim. The second is presenting a Canadian passport and applying for TN when the applicant is in fact a citizen, which creates a false record rather than a shortcut. Establish the facts, obtain advice if the parental route is involved, and then apply for the correct document. And keep the distinction from permanent residence in mind throughout: a Canadian permanent resident card confers no TN eligibility and no citizenship of anywhere.
What else is on your mind?
Does Canadian permanent residence give me access to TN?Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.